Electronic apparatus, control method for electronic apparatus, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

A digital camera includes a system control unit. The system control unit detects a touch operation on a touch panel, does not perform processing corresponding to the touch operation performed on the touch panel within a predetermined time period from a shift of a user&#39;s eye with respect to a finder from an eye-separation state to an eye-proximity state, and performs the processing corresponding to the touch operation performed after the predetermined time period has elapsed from the shift of the user&#39;s eye with respect to the finder from the eye-separation state to the eve-proximity state.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus capable ofperforming processing corresponding to a touch operation, a controlmethod for the electronic apparatus, and a storage medium.

Description of the Related Art

In these days, a user sometimes changes a selected position or makes asetting by an operation on a touch panel, serving as an operation inputdevice, together with an operation of an operation unit, such as abutton, a four-way operational key, and a dial.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-203143 discusses a methodof specifying an auto-focus (AF) position by a user operating a touchpanel provided on the back side of an imaging apparatus while lookinginto a display unit in a finder.

However, in a case where the user performs a touch operation whilelooking into the finder, an unintended operation may sometimes be madebecause a part of the user's face, such as a nose, touches the touchpanel. There is known a method of preventing an erroneous detection of anose by limiting a touch-operation allowable area. However, in thiscase, the touch-operation allowable area becomes narrow, which is anissue.

There is another method of receiving only a touch operation with atouched point having moved more than a predetermined distance. However,in this case, a touch operation with a small touch movement amount, suchas a tap operation, cannot be accepted.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to an electronic apparatus capable ofpreventing an execution of unintended processing caused by a part of auser's face touching a touch panel when the user looks into a finder.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided anelectronic apparatus including a memory and at least one processor whichfunction as a detection unit configured to detect a touch operationperformed on a touch panel, and a control unit configured to performprocessing corresponding to the touch operation performed on the touchpanel after a predetermined time period has elapsed from an occurrenceof a specific event, and not to perform the processing corresponding tothe touch operation performed on the touch panel within thepredetermined time period from the occurrence of the specific event.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams each illustrating an appearance of adigital camera.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the digital camera.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E are schematic diagrams each illustrating arelationship between a user and the digital camera in a case where astate of a user's eye shifts from an eye-separation state (i.e., auser's eye is not close to an eyepiece portion) to an eye-proximitystate (i.e., the user's eye is close to the eyepiece portion).

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E are schematic diagrams each illustrating arelationship between the user and the digital camera in a case where anorientation (direction) of the digital camera is changed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a touch operation control.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinbelow, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams each illustrating an appearance of adigital camera 100 (imaging apparatus), as an example of an apparatus towhich the present disclosure is applicable. FIG. 1A is a perspectiveview of the digital camera 100 seen from a front side of the digitalcamera 100, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the digital camera 100seen from a back side of the digital camera 100.

A display unit 28 is a display unit provided on the back side of thedigital camera 100 to display an image and/or various types ofinformation. A touch panel 70 a can detect a touch operation on adisplay surface (touch operation surface) of the display unit 28. Adirection of displaying an image on the display unit 28 can be adjustedto the same direction as on an electronic viewfinder (EVF) 29.

An out-of-finder display unit 43 is a display unit provided on a topsurface of the digital camera 100 to display various setting values forthe digital camera 100, such as a shutter speed and an aperture value. Ashutter button 61 is an operation member for issuing an image capturinginstruction. A mode change switch 60 is an operation member forswitching between various modes. A terminal cover 40 is a cover forprotecting a connector (not illustrated) for a connection cable used forconnecting the digital camera 100 to an external apparatus.

A main electronic dial 71 is a rotational operation member, and canchange setting values, such as a shutter speed and an aperture value, byrotating the main electronic dial 71. A power switch 72 is an operationmember for switching power of the digital camera 100 between on and off.A sub electronic dial 73 is a rotational operation member for moving aselection frame (cursor) and advancing images, by rotating the subelectronic dial 73. A four-way operational key 74 is configured in sucha manner that upper, lower, left, and right portions thereof can bepressed, and processing corresponding to the pressed portion of thefour-way operational key 74 can be performed. A set button 75 is a pressbutton mainly used for determining a selected item.

A movie button 76 is used for issuing an instruction to start or stopcapturing (recording) a moving image. An automatic exposure (AE) lockbutton 77 is a press button that can fix an exposure state by pressingthe AE lock button 77 in an image capturing standby state. Anenlargement button 78 is an operation button for switching anenlargement mode between on and off in a live view (LV) display mode inthe imaging modes. By operating the main electronic dial 71 afterswitching the enlargement mode to on, the LV image can be enlarged orreduced. In a reproduction mode, the enlargement button 78 functions asan operation button for enlarging a reproduced image and increasing anenlargement ratio of the reproduced image.

A reproduction button 79 is an operation button for switching between animage capturing mode and the reproduction mode. By pressing thereproduction button 79 in the image capturing mode, the mode is shiftedto the reproduction mode, and the latest image recorded in a recordingmedium 200 (described below) can be displayed on the display unit 28. Amenu button 81 is a press button used for performing an instructionoperation to display a menu screen, and a menu screen with which varioussettings can be made is displayed on the display unit 28 when the menubutton 81 is pressed. A user can intuitively perform various settingsusing the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28, the four-wayoperational key 74, and the set button 75.

A touch bar 82 (multifunction bar) is a touch operation member (linetouch sensor) in a line shape capable of receiving a touch operation.The touch bar 82 is arranged at a position at which a touch operationcan be performed (touchable) with the thumb of a user's right hand in astate where the user grips a grip portion 90 with the user's right hand(little finger, third finger, and middle finger of the user's righthand) in such a manner that the user can press the shutter button 61with the index finger of the user's right hand. In other words, thetouch bar 82 is arranged at a position at which a user can operate thetouch bar 82 in a state where the user looks into an eyepiece finder 17with the user's eye close to an eyepiece portion 16 and ready forpressing the shutter button 61 at any time (image capturing posture).

The touch bar 82 is a reception unit that can receive a tap operation(operation of removing a user's finger from the touch bar 82 withoutmoving a touched point for a predetermined time period after touchingthe touch bar), and a right-and-left slide operation (operation ofmoving a touched point in a state of touching the touch bar aftertouching the touch bar), performed on the touch bar 82. The touch bar 82is an operation member different from the touch panel 70 a, and does notinclude a display function.

A communication terminal 10 is used for the digital camera 100 tocommunicate with a lens unit 150 (interchangeable lens unit) to bedescribed below. The eyepiece portion 16 is an eyepiece portion for theeyepiece finder 17 (look-in type finder), and a user can visuallyrecognize an image displayed on the internal EVF 29 through the eyepieceportion 16. An eye-proximity detection unit 57 is an eye-proximitysensor for detecting whether a user's (photographer's) eye is close to(or contacts) the eyepiece portion 16 (i.e., eye-proximity state).

A cover 202 is a cover for a slot in which the recording medium 200(described below) is housed. The grip portion 90 is a holding portionwith a shape easy to be gripped in the user's right hand when the userholds the digital camera 100 in a posture for capturing an image.

The shutter button 61 and the main electronic dial 71 are arranged eachat a position operable with the index finger of the user's right hand,in a state where the user is holding the grip portion 90 to support thedigital camera 100 with the little finger, the third finger, and themiddle finger of the user's right hand. The sub electronic dial 73 andthe touch bar 82 are arranged each at a position operable with the thumbof the user's right hand in the same holding state. A thumb rest portion91 (thumb standby position) is a grip member provided at a position onthe back side of the digital camera 100 at which a user can easily placethe thumb of the user's right hand gripping the grip portion 90 in astate where the user is not operating any operation member. The thumbrest portion 91 includes a rubber member or the like to increase aholding force (grip feeling).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thedigital camera 100 and the lens unit 150. The lens unit 150 is aninterchangeable lens unit including an imaging lens 103. While theimaging lens 103 normally includes a plurality of lenses, the imaginglens 103 is illustrated as one lens in FIG. 2 for simplification. Acommunication terminal 6 is used for the lens unit 150 to communicatewith the digital camera 100, and the communication terminal 10 is usedfor the digital camera 100 to communicate with the lens unit 150. Thelens unit 150 communicates with a system control unit 50 via thecommunication terminals 6 and 10. The lens unit 150 controls an aperture1 by a lens system control circuit 4 in the lens unit 150 via anaperture drive circuit 2. The lens unit 150 can perform focusing by thelens system control circuit 4 moving a position of the imaging lens 103via an auto-focus (AF) drive circuit 3.

A shutter 101 is a focal plane shutter that can freely control anexposure time for an image capturing unit 22 under control of the systemcontrol unit 50.

The image capturing unit 22 is an image capturing device (image sensor),such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor and a complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, that converts an optical imageinto an electrical signal. The image capturing unit 22 may include animaging plane phase-difference sensor that outputs defocus amountinformation to the system control unit 50. An analog to digital (A/D)conversion unit 23 converts an analog signal output from the imagecapturing unit 22 into a digital signal.

An image processing unit 24 performs predetermined processing (e.g.,resize processing, such as pixel interpolation and size reduction, andcolor conversion processing) on data output from the A/D conversion unit23 or data output from a memory control unit 15. The image processingunit 24 performs predetermined calculation processing using the capturedimage data, and the system control unit 50 performs exposure control andrange-finding control based on the calculation result obtained from theimage processing unit 24. In this way, through-the-lens (TTL) AFprocessing, AE processing, electronic flash preliminary emission (EF)processing, and other processing are performed. The image processingunit 24 further performs predetermined calculation processing using thecaptured image data, and the system control unit 50 performs TTLautomatic white balance (AWB) processing based on a calculation resultobtained from the image processing unit 24.

The data output from the A/D conversion unit 23 is written into a memory32 via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15.Alternatively, the data output from the A/D conversion unit 23 iswritten into the memory 32 via the memory control unit 15 without goingthrough the image processing unit 24. The memory 32 stores the imagedata obtained by the image capturing unit 22 and converted into thedigital data by the A/D conversion unit 23, and the image data to beused for display on the display unit 28 and/or the EVF 29. The memory 32has enough capacity for storing a predetermined number of still imagesand a predetermined time period of moving image and sound.

The memory 32 also functions as a memory for image display (videomemory). A digital to analog (D/A) conversion unit 19 converts the datafor image display stored in the memory 32 into an analog signal, andsupplies the analog signal to the display unit 28 or the EVF 29. In thisway, the image data for display written in the memory 32 is displayed onthe display unit 28 and/or the EVF 29 via the D/A conversion unit 19.Each of the display unit 28 and the EVF 29 is a liquid crystal displayor an organic electroluminescence display to perform display based onthe analog signal output from the D/A conversion unit 19, LV display canbe performed by the D/A conversion unit 19 converting the digitalsignal, which has been converted by the A/D conversion unit 23 andstored in the memory 32, into an analog signal, and successivelytransferring the converted analog signal to the display unit 28 or theEVF 29. Hereinbelow, the image displayed by the LV display is referredto as an LV image.

The system control unit 50 is a control unit including at least oneprocessor and/or at least one circuit, and controls the whole digitalcamera 100. The system control unit 50 can be a processor and a circuit.The system control unit 50 implements processing according to thepresent exemplary embodiment described below by executing a programstored in a non-volatile memory 56. The system control unit 50 alsoperforms display control by controlling the memory 32, the D/Aconversion unit 19, the display unit 28, the EVF 29, and the like.

A system memory 52 is, for example, a random access memory (RAM), andthe system control unit 50 loads, in the system memory 52, constants andvariables for the operation of the system control unit 50, the programread from the non-volatile memory 56, and the like.

The non-volatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable and recordablememory, for example, an electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM). In the non-volatile memory 56, the constants, theprogram for the operation of the system control unit 50, and the likeare stored. The program here refers to a program for executing variousprocesses in flowcharts according to the present exemplary embodimentdescribed below.

A system timer 53 is a timer unit for counting time used for variouscontrols and time for a built-in clock.

A communication unit 54 transmits and receives an image signal and anaudio signal to and from an external apparatus connected to thecommunication unit 54 wirelessly or with a wired cable. Thecommunication unit 54 can also connect to a wireless local area network(LAN) and the Internet. The communication unit 54 can also communicatewith an external apparatus using Bluetooth® or Bluetooth® Low Energy.The communication unit 54 can transmit an image (including an LV image)captured by the image capturing unit 22, and an image recorded in therecording medium 200, and can receive image data and various types ofinformation from an external apparatus.

An orientation detection unit 55 detects an orientation of the digitalcamera 100 with respect to the gravity direction. Based on theorientation detected by the orientation detection unit 55, it ispossible to determine whether an image captured by the image capturingunit 22 is captured with the digital camera 100 in a horizontal(landscape) orientation or a vertical (portrait) orientation. The systemcontrol unit 50 can add orientation information corresponding to theorientation detected by the orientation detection unit 55 to an imagefile of the image captured by the image capturing unit 22, and rotateand record the image. As the orientation detection unit 55, anacceleration sensor or a gyroscope sensor can be used. Using theacceleration sensor or the gyroscope sensor serving as the orientationdetection unit 55, it is also possible to detect the movement of thedigital camera 100 (panned, tilted, lifted, or not moved).

The eye-proximity detection unit 57 is an eye-proximity sensor fordetecting the proximity (eye-proximity) and separation (eye-separation)of an eye (object) with respect to the eyepiece portion 16 of theeyepiece finder (hereinbelow, simply referred to as a finder) 17 (i.e.,proximity detection). The system control unit 50 switches between adisplay state and a non-display state of the display unit 28 and the EVF29, based on the state detected by the eye-proximity detection unit 57.More specifically, in a state where at least the digital camera 100 isin a standby state and the switching setting of the display destinationis set to an automatic switching, the display destination is set to thedisplay unit 28 with the display state turned on, and the EVF 29 is setto a non-display state while the user's eye is not close to the eyepieceportion 16 (eye-separation state). While the user's eye is close to theeyepiece portion 16 (eye-proximity state), the display destination isset to the EVF 29 with the display state turned on, and the display unit28 is set to a non-display state.

For the eye-proximity detection unit 57, for example, an infrared lightproximity sensor can be used for detecting proximity of any objects tothe eyepiece portion 16 of the finder 17 with the EVF 29 built therein.When an object is in proximity to the eyepiece portion 16, infraredlight emitted from a light emission unit (not illustrated) of theeye-proximity detection unit 57 and reflected by the object is receivedby a light-reception unit (not illustrated) of the infrared lightproximity sensor. Based on an amount of the received infrared light, itis also possible to determine how close the object has approached theeyepiece portion 16 (proximity distance).

In this way, the eye-proximity detection unit 57 performs theeye-proximity detection for detecting the proximity distance of theobject to the eyepiece portion 16. The eye-proximity detection unit 57detects that the user's eye is in proximity to the eyepiece portion 16in a case where an object that has approached the eyepiece portion 16within a predetermined distance (threshold) from an eye-separation state(non-proximity state) is detected. The eye-proximity detection unit 57detects that the user's eye is separated from the eyepiece portion 16 ina case where the object for which the proximity to the eyepiece portion16 has been detected is moved apart from the eyepiece portion 16 morethan the predetermined distance (threshold), from the eye-proximitystate. The threshold for detecting the eye-proximity state and thethreshold for detecting the eye-separation state may be different, forexample, by providing hysteresis. After detecting the eye-proximitystate, the eye-proximity detection unit 57 determines that the user'seye is in an eye-proximity state until detecting the eye-separationstate. After detecting the eye-separation state, the eye-proximitydetection unit 57 determines that the user's eye is in theeye-separation state until detecting the eye-proximity state. Theinfrared light proximity sensor is merely an example, and any othersensors may be employed as long as the sensors can detect the state thatcan be regarded as the eye-proximity state.

On the out-of-finder display unit 43, various setting values, such as ashutter speed and an aperture value, are displayed via an out-of-finderdisplay unit drive circuit 44.

A power supply control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, adirect-current to direct-current (DC/DC) converter, and a switchingcircuit for switching between blocks to supply power, and detectsmounting of a battery, a type of a battery, and a remaining batterycapacity. The power supply control unit 80 controls the DC/DC converterbased on a detection result and an instruction from the system controlunit 50 to supply a required voltage for a required time period to eachof units including the recording medium 200. A power source 30 includesa primary battery such as an alkali battery and a lithium battery, asecondary battery such as a nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery, anickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery, and a lithium (Li) battery, and analternate current (AC) adopter.

A recording medium interface (I/F) 18 is an interface with the recordingmedium 200, such as a memory card and a hard disk. The recording medium200 is a recording medium such as a memory card for recording capturedimages, and includes a semiconductor memory and/or a magnetic disk.

An operation unit 70 is an input unit for receiving an operation from auser (user operation), and is used for inputting various operationinstructions to the system control unit 50. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the operation unit 70 includes the shutter button 61, the mode changeswitch 60, the power switch 72, the touch panel 70 a, and the otheroperation members 70 b. The other operation members 70 b include themain electronic dial 71, the sub electronic dial 73, the four-wayoperational key 74, the set button 75, the movie button 76, the AE lockbutton 77, the enlargement button 78, the reproduction button 79, themenu button 81, and the touch bar 82.

The shutter button 61 includes a first shutter switch 62 and a secondshutter switch 64. The first shutter switch 62 turns on in partway ofthe operation of the shutter button 61, so-called a half press state(i.e., imaging preparation instruction), and generates a first shutterswitch signal SW1. The system control unit 50 starts an imagingpreparation operation such as the AF processing, the AE processing, theAWB processing, and the EF processing, in response to the first shutterswitch signal SW1.

The second shutter switch 64 turns on in completion of the operation ofthe shutter button 61, so-called a full press state (i.e., imaginginstruction), and generates a second shutter switch signal SW2. Inresponse to the second shutter switch signal SW2, the system controlunit 50 starts a series of imaging processing operations, starting froman operation of reading out signals from the image capturing unit 22 toan operation of writing the captured image in the recording medium 200as an image file.

The mode change switch 60 switches the operation mode of the systemcontrol unit 50 to any one of a still image capturing mode, a movingimage capturing mode, and a reproduction mode. Examples of modesincluded in the still image capturing mode include an automatic imagecapturing mode, an automatic scene determination mode, a manual mode, anaperture priority mode (Av mode), a shutter speed priority mode (Tvmode), and a program AE mode (P mode). Examples of modes included in thestill image capturing mode further include various scene modescorresponding to various imaging scenes as an imaging setting and acustom mode. A user can switch the mode to any one of the modes directlyby the mode change switch 60. Alternatively, a user may switch thescreen to a list screen of the imaging modes once using the mode changeswitch 60, and then selectively switch the mode to any one of aplurality of displayed modes using any of the other operation members 70b. Similarly, the moving image capturing mode may include a plurality ofmodes.

The touch panel 70 a is a touch sensor for detecting various touchoperations on a display surface of the display unit 28 (operationsurface of the touch panel 70 a). The touch panel 70 a and the displayunit 28 can be integrally formed. For example, the touch panel 70 a isformed to have enough transmission ratio so as not to hinder the displayof the display unit 28, and attached on an upper layer of the displaysurface of the display unit 28. Input coordinates on the touch panel 70a and display coordinates on the display surface of the display unit 28are associated. In this way, a graphical user interface (GUI) with whicha user can experience as if to directly operate the screen displayed onthe display unit 28, can be provided.

The system control unit 50 can detect the following operations performedon the touch panel 70 a or the states of the touch panel 70 a:

-   an operation of newly touching the touch panel 70 a with a finger or    a pen that has not touched the touch panel 70 a, i.e., start of    touch (hereinbelow, referred to as a “touch-down”);-   a state of touching the touch panel 70 a with a finger or a pen    (hereinbelow, referred to as a “touch-on”);-   an operation of moving a finger or a pen on the touch panel 70 a in    a state of touching the touch panel 70 a (hereinbelow, referred to    as a “touch-move”);-   an operation of removing a finger or a pen that has touched the    touch panel 70 a from the touch panel 70 a, i.e., end of touch    (hereinbelow, referred to as a “touch-up”); and-   a state of not touching the touch panel 70 a with a finger or a pen    (hereinbelow, referred to as a “touch-off”).

When a touch-down is detected, a touch-on is also detected. Normally,the touch-on is continuously detected unless a touch-up is not detectedafter the touch-down. Similarly, when a touch-move is detected, atouch-on is also detected. A touch-move is not detected if a touch-on isdetected but the touched point does not move. A touch-off is detectedafter an operation of touch-ups by all the fingers or pens is detected.

These operations or states and the positional coordinates on the touchpanel 70 a touched by a finger or a pen are notified to the systemcontrol unit 50 via an internal bus. The system control unit 50determines, based on the notified information, what type of operation(touch operation) has been performed on the touch panel 70 a. As for thetouch-move, the system control unit 50 can determine, based on thechange in the positional coordinates, the moving direction of the fingeror the pen moving on the touch panel 70 a for each of the verticalcomponent and the horizontal component on the touch panel 70 a. In acase where the touch-move more than a predetermined distance isdetected, the system control unit 50 determines that a slide operationhas been performed.

An operation of quickly moving a finger by a certain distance in a stateof touching the touch panel 70 a with the finger and then removing thefinger from the touch panel 70 a is called a “flick”. In other words,the flick is an operation of quickly sliding a finger on the touch panel70 a, in other words, as if flipping the touch panel 70 a with thefinger. In a case where a touch-move by a distance more than apredetermined distance and at a speed faster than a predetermined speedis detected and then a touch-up is detected, the system control unit 50can determine that a flick has been performed. In other words, thesystem control unit 50 determines that a flick has been performed aftera slide operation.

Further, a touch operation of touching a plurality of positions (e.g.,two positions) together on the touch panel 70 a (multi-touch) and thenmoving the touched positions closer to each other is called a“pinch-in”, and moving the touch positions away from each other iscalled a “pinch-out”. The pinch-in and the pinch-out are collectivelycalled a pinch operation or simply a pinch.

The touch panel 70 a may be a touch panel of any one of various types,such as a resistance film type, an electrostatic capacitance type, asurface acoustic wave type, and an infrared light type, anelectromagnetic induction type, an image recognition type, and anoptical sensor type. There are types of a touch panel that detects atouch operation when a contact is made on the touch panel, and a touchpanel that detects a touch operation when a finger or a pen is placedclose to the touch panel, and any type may be employed.

The notification of the detection of the touch operation from the touchpanel 70 a to the system control unit 50 is performed in the followingmanner:

-   active (touch-down or touch-move)+touch identification (ID)+touch    coordinates; and-   inactive (touch-up)+touch ID.

The touch ID is used for distinguishing fingers or pens touching aplurality of positions. Active is notified when a touch-down or atouch-move is performed. Inactive is notified when a touch-up isperformed. Based on the above-described information, touch-down,touch-move, touch-up, flick, and pinch operations are distinguished.

A line-of-sight detection block 160 is a block for detecting aline-of-sight to determine whether a user with their eye in proximity tothe eyepiece portion 16 looks at the EVF 29, and further which positionon the EVF 29 the user is looking at if the user looks at the EVF 29.The line-of-sight detection block 160 includes a dichroic mirror 162, animaging lens 163, a line-of-sight detection sensor 164, an infraredlight-emitting diode (IRED) 166, and a line-of-sight detection circuit165.

The IRED 166 is a light emitting device to irradiate a user's eyeball(eye) 161 in proximity to the eyepiece portion 16 with the infraredlight. The infrared light emitted from the IRED 166 is reflected at theuser's eyeball 161 and the reflected infrared light reaches the dichroicmirror 162. The dichroic mirror 162 only reflects the infrared light andtransmits visible light. The reflected infrared light with its lightpath changed forms an image on an imaging plane of the line-of-sightdetection sensor 164 through the imaging lens 163.

The imaging lens 163 is an optical member included in a line-of-sightdetection optical system. The line-of-sight detection sensor 164includes an imaging device such as a CCD image sensor. The line-of-sightdetection sensor 164 photoelectrically converts the reflected infraredlight incident thereon into an electric signal, and outputs the electricsignal to the line-of-sight detection circuit 165. The line-of-sightdetection circuit 165 includes at least one processor, detects theuser's line-of-sight position from an image or a movement of the user'seyeball 161 based on the output signal from the line-of-sight detectionsensor 164, and outputs the detected information to the system controlunit 50.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the line-of-sight is detected basedon a method called a corneal reflection method using the line-of-sightdetection block 160. The corneal reflection method is a method ofdetecting a direction and a position of a line-of-sight from apositional relationship between a pupil of the eyeball 161 and theinfrared light that has been emitted from the IRED 166 and reflected onthe eyeball 161, particularly on the cornea. Other than this method,there are many methods for detecting a direction and a position of theline-of-sight, such as a method called a sclera reflection method thatuses a difference between a reflection ratio of a black part and areflection ratio of a white part of the eye. Any line-of-sight detectionmethod other than the above-described methods may be used as long as adirection and a position of the line-of-sight can be detected. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, the light emitting unit and the lightreception unit of the eye-proximity detection unit 57 are described tobe different devices respectively from the IRED 166 and theline-of-sight detection sensor 164 described above. However, it is notlimited thereto, and the IRED 166 may also be used as the light emittingunit of the eye-proximity detection unit 57, and the line-of-sightdetection sensor 164 may also be used as the light reception unit.

The system control unit 50 can detect the following operations andstates based on the output from the line-of-sight detection block 160:

-   a state where a line-of-sight of a user with the user's eye close to    the eyepiece portion 16 is newly input (detected), i.e., start of    the line-of-sight input;-   a state where a line-of-sight of a user with the user's eye close to    the eyepiece portion 16 is in a certain state;-   a state where a user with the user's eye close to the eyepiece    portion 16 is in a state of gazing at a position;-   an operation that a user with the user's eye close to the eyepiece    portion 16 moves away the line-of-sight that has been input, i.e.,    end of the line-of-sight input; and-   a state where a user with the user's eye close to the eyepiece    portion 16 inputs no line-of-sight.

The “gazing at” used herein means a state where a user is looking atsubstantially a same position for a certain time period. It isdetermined that a user is gazing at a position in a case where, forexample, a movement amount of a user's line-of-sight position does notexceed a predetermined movement amount for a predetermined time period(e.g., 0.5 seconds). The predetermined time period may be set by a user,may be fixedly determined in advance, or may be changeable depending ona distance relationship between a current line-of-sight position and aline-of-sight position immediately before the current line-of-sightposition. For example, the system control unit 50 determines that a useris gazing at a position, in a case where a period of duration of a statein which the user's line-of-sight is detected at substantially a sameposition (no line-of-sight movement state) has exceeded thepredetermined time period (threshold time period), based on the detectedinformation received from the line-of-sight detection circuit 165. Thesystem control unit 50 determines the current state to be the state ofno line-of-sight movement state, for example, in a case where an averageposition of the line-of-sight detected positions in a short time period(≤threshold time period described above) including the latest detectiontiming is within a predetermined range, and a variation (dispersion) ofthe line-of-sight detected positions is smaller than a predeterminedvalue.

The system control unit 50 of the digital camera 100 detects a touchoperation on the operation surface of the touch panel 70 a and performsa function corresponding to the touch operation. The system control unit50 of the digital camera 100 according to the present exemplaryembodiment invalidates a control based on a touch operation performedwithin a predetermined time period after shift from an eye-separationstate to an eye-proximity state while the touch operation is continued.The system control unit 50 of the digital camera 100 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment invalidates a control based on a touchoperation performed within a predetermined time period after theorientation of the digital camera 100 is changed while the touchoperation is continued. The user's facial region (e.g., nose) maysometimes have touched the touch panel 70 a, immediate after the shiftfrom an eye-separation state to an eye-proximity state, or immediateafter the change in the orientation of the digital camera 100. In thiscase, if a function is performed in response to the touch by the facialregion, there may be a fear that a control not intended by the user isperformed, which hinders the user's imaging action. The system controlunit 50 of the digital camera 100 according to the present exemplaryembodiment prevents the execution of the unintended control by disablingthe touch operation performed immediately after the change in theeye-proximity state with respect to the digital camera 100 or the changeof the orientation of the digital camera 100.

Hereinbelow, the control performed by the system control unit 50 of thedigital camera 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 5.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E are schematic diagrams each illustrating arelationship between a user and the digital camera 100, in particular, adisplay unit (touch panel 70 a) of the digital camera 100, in shiftingfrom the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state.

FIG. 3A illustrates a state where the user does not look into the finder17 (eye-separation state). For example, at this time, the user looks atan LV display on the display surface of the display unit 28.Alternatively, the user looks into the finder 17 to prepare for an imagecapturing, in a case where the switching setting of the displaydestination is not automatic and fixed to the EVF 29, or the digitalcamera 100 is in a power-saving state and the LV display is notperformed.

FIG. 3B is a diagram schematically illustrating a state where the statein FIG. 3A changes to a state where the user is looking into the finder17. At this time, the user's facial region (nose) makes a touch-down ona position 301. On the other hand, the user performs a touch-down withthe user's finger on a position 302. The user intentionally performs thetouch-down, but the nose unintentionally makes the touch-down. In otherwords, the touch-down performed on the position 301 is intended by theuser.

The system control unit 50 determines that the detected touch-down ishighly possible to have been unintentionally made by the nose and thelike, in a case where a time difference between a timing of a shift fromthe eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state and a timing of adetection of the touch-down falls within a predetermined time period.The system control unit 50 determines that the detected touch-down is aninvalid touch-down, and dose not perform the function corresponding tothe touch-down performed on either the position 301 or the position 302(invalidates). FIG. 3B illustrates a state within the predetermined timeperiod from the timing of the shift from the eye-separation state to theeye-proximity state. In this case, the system control unit 50 determinesthat the detected touch-down is an invalid touch-down, and dose notperform the function corresponding to the touch-down performed on eitherthe position 301 or the position 302.

The system control unit 50 may make a determination using, as areference, a timing at which the line-of-sight detection block 160detects the line-of-sight, not the timing of the shift from theeye-separation state to the eye-proximity state. The system control unit50 may perform determination using, as a reference, a timing of startingan image display by the EVF 29.

FIG. 3C illustrates a case where the user performs a touch-move from thetouched point with the user's finger from the state in FIG. 3B. In thiscase, the system control unit 50 determines that the touch-moveoperation from the touch-down at the position 302 to a position 303 isalso invalid, because the system control unit 50 has determined that thetouch-down with the user's finger at the position 302 is invalid.

However, if two or more points are touched at a timing near the timingof the shift from the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state,it is highly possible that at least either one of the points is touchedby the user's finger. Thus, a touch operation satisfying a predeterminedcondition is switched to a valid state from an invalid state. Forexample, the condition is either one of the following cases where:

-   (1) a touch-move is performed more than a predetermined movement    distance continuously from the touch-down determined to be invalid;    and-   (2) a tap operation is performed continuously (double tap operation)    from the touch-down determined to be invalid. In addition, the    condition may be a case where-   (3) both of two touched points move apart from each other more than    a predetermined distance or move close to each other within a    predetermined distance (pinch-in and pinch-out operation). If at    least any one of these conditions is satisfied, the system control    unit 50 determines that the touch-down is a touch operation    intentionally performed by the user's finger, not by the facial    region, and performs a control corresponding to the touch-down.

FIG. 3D illustrates a case where a touch-up is performed from thetouched point touched only by the user's finger, from the state in FIG.3C. At this time, in a case where the touch operation by the touch-up isvalid, a control corresponding to the touch operation is performed.

FIG. 3E illustrates a case where the user performs a touch-down againwith the user's finger from the state in FIG. 3D. At this time, assumethat the predetermined time period has elapsed since the timing of theshift from the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state. As withthe touch-down in FIG. 3B, the system control unit 50 determines whetherthe touch-down is valid. More specifically, the system control unit 50determines whether the touch-down is performed within the predeterminedtime period since the timing of the shift from the eye-separation stateto the eye-proximity state. As described above, at this time, the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the touch operation by the touch-down isvalid because the predetermined time period has elapsed from the timingof the shift from the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state.The system control unit 50 performs a function corresponding to thetouch operation by the touch-down. The touch-down performed at theposition 301 is continued from the timing of the shift from theeye-separation state to the eye-proximity state as illustrated in FIG.3B. In this case, the system control unit 50 determines that thetouch-down on the position 301 is invalid, and does not perform acontrol corresponding to the touch-down.

More specifically, when the eye-separation state has shifted to theeye-proximity state as illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3E, the system controlunit 50 invalidates the touch-down performed within the predeterminedtime period from the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state.This makes it possible to prevent an execution of an unintentionalcontrol caused by a touch-down on the touch panel 70 a unintentionallymade when the user brings the user's face close to the eyepiece portion16 to look at the EVF 29. A touch operation performed after theeye-separation state shifts to the eye-proximity state is determined tobe valid, which enables an operation by a touch operation even when theuser's facial region is in contact with the touch panel 70 a.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E are schematic diagrams each illustrating arelationship between the user and the digital camera 100, specifically adisplay unit (touch panel 70 a) of the digital camera 100, in a casewhere an orientation (direction) of the digital camera 100 is changed.

FIG. 4A illustrates a state where the user looks into the finder 17 withthe digital camera 100 in a landscape orientation. The orientation ofthe digital camera 100 illustrated in FIG. 4A is defined as a normalorientation (horizontal orientation or landscape orientation).

FIG. 4B illustrates a case where the user changes the orientation of thedigital camera 100 from the horizontal orientation (landscapeorientation), illustrated in FIG. 4A, to the vertical orientation, and atouch-down with the user's finger and a touch-down with the user's noseare detected. The orientation of the digital camera 100 in this case isdefined as a portrait orientation. At this time, the user's facialregion (nose) performs a touch-down at a position 401, while the userperforms a touch-down with a user's finger at a position 402. The userintentionally performs the touch-down, but the nose unintentionallymakes another touch-down. In other words, the touch-down performed onthe position 401 is not based on the user's intention.

The system control unit 50 determines that it is highly possible thatthe detected touch-down is unintentionally made, in a case where a timedifference between a timing at which the orientation of the digitalcamera 100 is changed and a timing at which the touch-down is detectedis within a predetermined time period. The system control unit 50determines that the detected touch-down is an invalid touch-down, anddose not perform a function corresponding to the touch-down performed ateither the position 401 or the position 402 (invalidates). FIG. 4Billustrates a state within the predetermined time period from the timingat which the orientation of the digital camera 100 is changed. Morespecifically, the system control unit 50 determines that the detectedtouch-down is an invalid touch-down, and dose not perform a functioncorresponding to the touch-down performed at either the position 401 orthe position 402. The system control unit 50 may determine whether theorientation of the digital camera 100 is changed based on an imagesignal not based on the timing at which the orientation of the digitalcamera 100 is changed.

FIG. 4C illustrates a case where the user performs a touch-move from apoint touched with the user's finger, from the state in FIG. 4B. In thiscase, the system control unit 50 determines that the touch-moveoperation moving to a position 403 from the touch-down on the position402 is also invalid, because the system control unit 50 has determinedthat the touch-down with the user's finger on the position 402 isinvalid.

However, if two points are touched at a timing near the timing of theshift from the eye-separation state to the eye-proximity state, it ishighly possible that at least either one of the points is touched withthe user's finger. Accordingly, a touch operation satisfying apredetermined condition is switched to a valid state from an invalidstate. For example, the condition is either one of cases where:

-   (1) a touch-move is performed by a movement distance more than a    threshold continuously from a touch-down determined to be invalid;    and-   (2) a tap operation is performed continuously (double tap operation)    from the touch-down determined to be invalid. In addition, the    condition may be a case where-   (3) both of two touched points move apart from each other more than    a predetermined distance or move close to each other within the    predetermined distance (so-called pinch-out and pinch-in operation).    If at least any one of these conditions is satisfied, the system    control unit 50 determines that the touch-down is a touch operation    intentionally performed by the user's finger, not by the facial    region, and performs a control corresponding to the touch-down.

FIG. 4D illustrates a case where a touch-up is performed from the pointtouched only with the user's finger, from the state in FIG. 4C. In thiscase, in a case where the touch operation by the touch-up is valid, thesystem control unit 50 performs a control corresponding to the touchoperation.

FIG. 4E illustrates a case where the user performs a touch-down againwith the user's finger from the state in FIG. 4D. At this time, assumethat the predetermined time period has elapsed from the timing at whichthe orientation of the digital camera 100 is changed. AS with thetouch-down in FIG. 4B, the system control unit 50 determines whether thetouch-down is valid. More specifically, the system control unit 50determines whether the touch-down is performed within the predeterminedtime period from the timing at which the orientation of the digitalcamera 100 is changed. As described above, in this case, the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the touch operation by the touch-down isvalid, because, as described above, the predetermined time period haselapsed from the timing at which the orientation of the digital camera100 is changed. The system control unit 50 performs a functioncorresponding to the touch operation by the touch-down. As illustratedin FIG. 4B, the touch-down performed at the position 401 is continuedfrom the timing at which the orientation of the digital camera 100 ischanged. In such a case, the system control unit 50 determines that thetouch-down on the position 401 is invalid, and does not perform acontrol corresponding to the touch-down.

More specifically, the system control unit 50 invalidates the touch-downperformed within the predetermined time period from the timing at whichthe orientation of the digital camera 100 is changed in the case wherethe orientation of the digital camera 100 is changed as illustrated inFIGS. 4A to 4E. This makes it possible to prevent an execution of anunintentional control caused by a touch-down on the touch panel 70 aperformed unintentionally when an orientation of the digital camera 100is changed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the touch operation control describedabove. The system control unit 50 starts this flowchart when a touchoperation on the touch panel 70 a is detected.

In step S501, the system control unit 50 determines whether the touchoperation is a touch-down. In a case where the system control unit 50determines that the touch operation is a touch-down (YES in step S501),the processing proceeds to step S502. In a case where the system controlunit 50 determines that the touch operation is not a touch-down (NO instep S501), the processing proceeds to step S504.

In step S502, the system control unit 50 determines whether a touch-downtiming t1 is a predetermined timing. The system control unit 50determines whether the touch-down is performed within a predeterminedtime period from a timing t2 at which a specific event has occurred. Thespecific event is any one of the following cases where:

-   (1) a shift from an eye-separation state to an eye-proximity state    is performed;-   (2) a line-of-sight is detected by the line-of-sight detection block    160;-   (3) a display of an image by the EVF 29 is started when the digital    camera 100 is activated or the display devices are switched from the    display unit 28 to the EVF 29; and-   (4) an orientation (landscape or portrait) of the digital camera 100    is changed.

In step S502, if |t1−t2|<th or 0<t1−t2<th is satisfied, the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the touch-down is performed at thepredetermined timing (YES in step S502), and the processing proceeds tostep S503. Otherwise (NO in step S502), the processing proceeds to stepS506. The symbol “th” is a threshold representing the predetermined timeperiod. The threshold th can be freely set by the user's operation.

In step S503, the system control unit 50 adds a touch ID to an invalidtouch ID list so as to make the touch ID indicating the detectedtouch-down be an invalid touch point.

In step S504, the system control unit 50 determines whether the touchoperation is a touch-up. In a case where the system control unit 50determines that the touch operation is a touch-up (YES in step S504),the processing proceeds to step S505. Otherwise (NO in step S504), theprocessing proceeds to step S506.

In step S505, the system control unit 50 deletes the touch ID from theinvalid touch ID list in a case where the touch ID corresponding to thetouch operation determined to be a touch-up is included in the invalidtouch ID list.

In step S506, the system control unit 50 determines whether two or moretouched points (touch IDs) are registered in the invalid touch ID list.In a case where the system control unit 50 determines that two or moretouched points are included in the invalid touch ID list (YES in stepS506), the processing proceeds to step S507. Otherwise (NO in stepS506), the processing proceeds to step S509.

In step S507, the system control unit 50 determines whether the touchoperation corresponding to the detected touch ID satisfies a specificcondition. The specific condition is, for example, any one of thefollowing cases where:

-   (1) a touch-move with a movement distance more than a predetermined    distance is performed without a touch-up performed;-   (2) continuous tap operations (double tap operation) are performed;    and-   (3) a pinch-in or a pinch-out operation between two touched points    is performed.    In a case where the system control unit 50 determines that the    specific condition is satisfied (YES in step S507), the processing    proceeds to step S508. Otherwise (NO in step S507), the processing    proceeds to step S509.

In step S508, the system control unit 50 deletes the touch ID from theinvalid touch ID list.

In step S509, the system control unit 50 performs an actioncorresponding to the touch operation based on the touched pointcurrently touched on except for the touch point included in the invalidtouch ID list.

The touch control procedure associated with the touch operation thenends.

By executing the touch control procedure described above, the operationsdescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 3A to 3E, and FIGS. 4A to 4E areimplemented.

Further, the present disclosure has been described in detail based onthe exemplary embodiments. However, the present disclosure is notlimited to the specific exemplary embodiments, and exemplary embodimentswithout departing from the gist of the present disclosure are includedin the present disclosure. Further, each of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed above merely illustrates an example, and it is possible tocombine the exemplary embodiments. The processing in the flowchart isdescribed to be performed by the system control unit 50 (i.e., centralprocessing unit (CPU)). However, it is not limited thereto, and aplurality of hardware components may share the processing.

In the exemplary embodiments described above, the case where the presentdisclosure is applied to a digital camera has been described as anexample. However, it is not limited thereto. More specifically, thepresent disclosure is applicable to a display control apparatus, as longas the display control apparatus can scroll a plurality of images, suchas a personal computer, a personal digital assistance (PDA), amobile-phone terminal, a portable image viewer, a printer apparatus witha display, a digital photo frame, a gaming machine, and a music player.

Other Embodiments

The present disclosure can be implemented by performing the followingprocessing. Specifically, the processing is performed by supplyingsoftware (program) that implements the functions according to theexemplary embodiments described above to a system or an apparatus via anetwork or various kinds of storage media, and a computer (centralprocessing unit (CPU) or micro processing unit (MPU)) in the system orthe apparatus reading and executing a program code. In this case, theprogram and the storage media that store the program constitute thepresent disclosure.

Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, the scope of the following claims are to beaccorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and equivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2021-0791110, filed May 7, 2021, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a memory andat least one processor which function as: a detection unit configured todetect a touch operation performed on a touch panel; and a control unitconfigured to perform processing corresponding to the touch operationperformed on the touch panel after a predetermined time period haselapsed from an occurrence of a specific event, and not to perform theprocessing corresponding to the touch operation performed on the touchpanel within the predetermined time period from the occurrence of thespecific event.
 2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the specific event is a shift from a state where an object isnot detected within a predetermined distance from a finder, to a statewhere the object is detected within the predetermined distance from thefinder.
 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a first display unit including the touch panel; and a seconddisplay unit configured so that an image is visually recognizablethrough the finder, different from the first display unit, wherein thefirst display unit and the second display unit display the image in asame direction.
 4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the specific event is that a line-of-sight looking into a finderis detected.
 5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe specific event is a shift from a state where an image is displayedon a first display unit including the touch panel to a state where theimage is displayed on a second display unit configured so that an imageis visually recognizable through a finder.
 6. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising an orientation detection unitconfigured to detect an orientation of the electronic apparatus, whereinthe specific event is that the orientation of the electronic apparatusis detected to have changed from a first orientation to a secondorientation.
 7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,in a case where the touch operation is a touch-move more thanpredetermined movement distance on the touch panel, the control unitperforms processing corresponding to the touch-move even though thetouch operation is performed on the touch panel within the predeterminedtime period from the occurrence of the specific event.
 8. The electronicapparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where a plurality oftaps including the touch operation is detected, the control unitperforms processing corresponding to the taps even though the touchoperation is performed on the touch panel within the predetermined timeperiod from the occurrence of the specific event.
 9. A control methodfor an electronic apparatus, the control method comprising: detecting atouch operation performed on a touch panel; and performing control toperform processing corresponding to the touch operation performed on thetouch panel after a predetermined time period has elapsed from anoccurrence of a specific event, and not to perform the processingcorresponding to the touch operation performed on the touch panel withinthe predetermined time period from the occurrence of the specific event.10. The control method according to claim 9, wherein the specific eventis a shift from a state where an object is not detected within apredetermined distance from a finder, to a state where the object isdetected within the predetermined distance from the finder.
 11. Thecontrol method according to claim 10, further comprising: performing afirst display on the touch panel; and performing a second display sothat an image is visually recognizable through the finder, differentfrom the first display, wherein, in the first display and the seconddisplay, the image is displayed in a same direction.
 12. The controlmethod according to claim 9, wherein the specific event is that aline-of-sight looking into a finder is detected.
 13. The control methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the specific event is a shift from a statewhere an image is displayed on a first display unit including the touchpanel to a state where the image is displayed on a second display unitconfigured so that an image is visually recognizable through a finder.14. The control method according to claim 9, further comprisingdetecting an orientation of the electronic apparatus, wherein thespecific event is that the orientation of the electronic apparatus isdetected to have changed from a first orientation to a secondorientation.
 15. The control method according to claim 9, wherein, in acase where the touch operation is a touch-move more than a predeterminedmovement distance on the touch panel, in the controlling, processingcorresponding to the touch-move is performed even though the touchoperation is performed on the touch panel within the predetermined timeperiod from the occurrence of the specific event.
 16. The control methodaccording to claim 9, wherein, in a case where a plurality of tapsincluding the touch operation is detected, in the controlling,processing corresponding to the taps is performed even though the touchoperation is performed on the touch panel within the predetermined timeperiod from the occurrence of the specific event.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing theelectronic apparatus to perform a control method, the method comprising:detecting a touch operation performed on a touch panel; and performingcontrol to perform processing corresponding to the touch operationperformed on the touch panel after a predetermined time period haselapsed from an occurrence of a specific event, and not to perform theprocessing corresponding to the touch operation performed on the touchpanel within the predetermined time period from the occurrence of thespecific event.